We are aware from your feedback and the experience of practice staff that it is difficult to get an appointment with a GP and that you don’t always get to see the GP of your choice, this is a national problem due to a shortage of GP's and increasing demand on NHS services. Although the practice has been able to recruit some new GPs, to provide additional capacity over recent months, the demand has continued to grow and our DNA rate (the number of patients that do not attend appointments) has remained stubbornly constant at around 700 patients every month.

In order to improve access to the GPs and improve continuity we are changing the way we book appointments. Therefore from 9th October LUCS & OUCS will close and be replaced by a new and improved appointment system.

In order to improve the service we provide we are changing the way in which you access the practice for medical and administrative queries.

How to access our new appointment system

Simply go to our home page using any device that can access the internet and click on the link.

Complete a simple questionnaire either to ask a question or advice from a member of the practice team. If you are asking for clinical advice you can select the Dr you usually see or you can select ‘anyone’ and a member of our clinical team will get back to you.

If your query is more of an administration query our non-clinical team will respond. We aim to get back to you within an hour if your query is submitted before 5pm during the normal working week.

If you do not have access to a computer or a smartphone you can still telephone the practice and speak to one of our Care Navigators. The Care Navigators have been asked by the partners to take some brief details from you about the nature of your problem, in confidence, to help then direct the concern / query to the most appropriate person.

How soon will the doctor call?

The doctor will call as soon as possible, usually within the hour, so please stay in or with your phone. Please let us know if you need the call at a particular time and we will try to accommodate this if we can.

What happens when the doctor calls?

The doctor will discuss the problem with you and work out what to do next. You may want advice, or a non-repeat prescription, or you may need to come into the surgery. The doctor will arrange an appointments if you need to be seen – usually the same day.

Do I need to call early?

No, the service is exactly the same whatever time you call. There is often a rush at the start of the day, so you may find you get a quicker response later on.

How does this help patients?

Many problems can be dealt with over the phone so the new system avoids wasted time coming into the surgery unnecessarily

Using the weblink reduces the frustration of waiting to speak to a Receptionist / Care Navigator

It cuts down the wait to see a doctor with immediate effect

You can contact us about any query or concern you have and we will get back to you the same day

This system should get our waiting times down to zero, so please bear with us over the coming weeks and as always we value your feedback.

Help us to help you by using our online system......... there is never a queue online!!